Words That She Couldn't Say
by powderyblue
Summary: The story (or at least, my version) of a woman and the only two people on Mars who can truly call her Anastasia. UPDATE - slightly revised Session 1 and new Session 2 is up!
1. Prologue

"Words That She Couldn't Say"

a _Cowboy Bebop_ fanfic.

Hi, this is my first CB fanfic, and what more can I say, except I hope you enjoy it! Please, feel free to review it! Thanx!

(*NOTE* Be warned, for there are spoilers to a certain episode located within this fanfic.)

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Cowboy Bebop and its characters and likenesses are copyrighted property of Sunrise, Inc. and Bandai. All original characters belong to me.

Annie could not believe what she was seeing. The man right in front of her…no, it was only a dream, a ghost. A ghost that should have stayed buried in the crevices of her mind.

She heard words come out of his mouth, but they did not gel together, due partially to the bourbon, partially to her disbelief.

He noticed her reaction, so he said the only word, slowly and softly, he knew that could get her undivided attention.

"Anastasia."

How _dare_ he…NO!

Slamming down the bottle, she thrust out her hand and pointed to one of the pictures hanging on that section of the wall, a glimpse into memories past.

It was of three people: two men, and her. Now, she was the only one of them left.

She then muttered something to Spike, which she figured didn't matter, since he would never listen to her anyway.

Another quick shot soothed the shock of seeing him as her mind drifted back to those times…


	2. Session 1 - Only Two People Can Call Me ...

Session 1 – "Only Two People Can Call Me By That Name"

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fall 2047

A small flock of doves quickly flew over the church as the casket was being carried to the hearse. They did not escape Annie's sight as she toed along with the rest of the funereal procession.

"Dammit, aren't they supposed to be a sign of life?" she quietly muttered to herself. "Where the hell were they when they pounded all those shots into Shirah's body?"

The formation of tears began to cloud her vision again as she once again remembered what she wanted most out of her head.

At the burial, she stood next to her other best friend and took his cold, clammy hand.

"Paul?"

Unable to speak, he squeezed her hand in response.

"I know it doesn't mean much now, Paul, but I promise you, whoever is responsible will not get away with this. Shirah was one of the most loyal Dragons, and I swear to you, they will make sure that the culprit will pay dearly."

Paul's messy black hair seemed to stand straight on end, as he could no longer hold his composure together.

"Don't you understand, Annie? I WAS THERE! I COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING!"

He dropped to his knees as he prostrated to weep. A few fellow members of the Dragons went over to make sure he didn't hurt himself.

A small boy of three broke from the crowd and ran towards the commotion. Annie ran towards him and tried to pick him up, but he fluidly maneuvered his body around hers, leaving Annie in utter shock.

The boy quickened his pace and leapt into his Paul's arms.

Paul silently picked the boy up and walked towards the limo. Annie and his partner Mao Yenrai followed, along with Shirah's partner Hiroe.

They rode back to the syndicate headquarters in silence. Annie quietly observed Spike, sleeping in Paul's arms. The boy definitely had Shirah's speed. He also had his mother's curly/poofy/wavy hair (though the color was a bit odd). What made him especially striking was the dark intensity of his brown eyes, making him seem older and world-wearier than his years, a trait that he shared with Paul, except that his father's eyes were an unreal liquid combination of green, blue, and gray.

Spike's eyes suddenly popped open.

"Daddy, where are we?" he asked in a sleepy voice.

"We're in the limo, son, and we're going back home."

"And we're never gonna see Mommy again, because she's dead?"

The following silence was filled with shock. Yes, he was a child of the Dragon, but he had not yet been exposed to the daily horrors of life in the syndicate. Spike was the first child to come along in many years, and they wanted to keep him innocent for as long as they could. Now, the adults sadly accepted that it was just not possible.

Fresh tears rolled down Paul's face. Hiroe tried to take the child into her lap, but Spike would not allow it.

"I can't leave him! I made Daddy sad again!" he sobbed.

Hiroe looked over to Mao and Annie for ideas, as she felt she was not very good with children.

Mao moved over to Paul's side of the limo and put him arm around the broken man's shoulder. Hiroe reached for her purse and pulled out a prescription bottle, then poured a glass of water, while Annie wriggled Spike out of Paul's grasp.

"Paul, listen to me," said Mao. "Take these now."

Paul pushed Hiroe's hand aside. "No! I won't!"

"None of us couldn't possibly understand what you are going through right now, Paul, and we will do anything to make sure Shirah is avenged. But there is a boy who needs you, and he needs you to need him. You will not be able to do anything for him if you don't calm down."

Paul looked over to Annie, holding a squirming Spike who wanted to be with his father.

"Let Spike come to me, Annie. Please."

"I can't do that, Paul, not until you've calmed yourself."

"How in the hell am I supposed to be calm? I had to put my woman in a hole in the ground, for Christ's sake! We were supposed to be married now! I was supposed to be holding her in my arms without blood gushing out all over me! How could they do this to me?"

Paul fell back into sobs. Hiroe quietly wiped his tears, threw the napkin out and got a new one. She then wiped a small section of his neck.

By the time Paul realized what she was going to the do, the needle was already inserted. He slumped down in his seat.

"NO!" screamed a frightened Spike as Annie finally lost her grip. He shook Paul's body as vigorously as he could.

"Daddy, Daddy, wake up! Wake up! Come on Daddy, wake up!"

Tears fell out of Spike's eyes when Paul would not respond.

"You killed Daddy!"

Mao started to pick him up, but Annie gestured for him to stop, before Spike performed a roundhouse kick on him. Mao gave Annie a questioning look, but Annie responded, "Shirah always believed in preparation for the unexpected."

Annie silently moved over to Paul and started talking to Spike.

"How do you know he's dead, Spike?" she asked calmly.

"Because he's not moving!" he cried.

"Yes, that's true," said Annie, lifting him up. "But do you remember when your pet bunny died?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't believe he was dead?"

"Yes."

"So your mommy put your hand under his chin to show you that the blood stopped flowing?"

"Um-hmm."

"Go ahead and feel your father's neck, like she showed you."

Spike crawled down Annie's lap and went to his father. He stuck out his index and middle fingers on his right hand and placed them on the side of his father's neck. He felt a slow and steady pulse.

"If he's not dead, then what did you do to him?" he asked.

"We put an anesthetic in his blood, so he could go to sleep for a while," answered Mao.

"But he didn't want to go to sleep, though!" countered Spike.

"But Spike," said Annie as she picked him up (this time without much objection), "your daddy is very upset because he misses your mommy so much."

"I know, and I miss her too," said Spike innocently.

"We just don't want him to get so upset that he may hurt himself, or even worse, you."

"Why would he hurt me?"

With a sigh, Annie explained, "Well, Spike, when people get upset, sometimes they'll lose control and do crazy things that they don't mean, and other people can get hurt as a result of it. We don't want that to happen to either of you."

"Oh." Spike rested his head against Annie's ample chest. "Can I go to sleep now, I'm tired."

"Yeah, 'cause you really had a long and terrible day."

Spike quietly closed his eyes, whispering, "Good night, Anastasia."

A chill ran down her spine. It was exactly the same way Paul said it; otherwise, it wouldn't have affected her that way.

As Mao went over to comfort Hiroe, who was to be transferred immediately once they reached headquarters, Annie's heart felt a pang of guilt. Ever since Shirah's death was announced, a secret that she held for many years was brought back to her attention, and she struggled all morning not to think about it. As Spike sucked his thumb in his slumber, all she could think about was now that Shirah was gone, Paul would one day finally be hers.

On the next episode….

Paul:They say there's no place like home. But what if home happens to be in the middle of hell itself?

Annie:Hey, at least no one can say there's a dull moment here!

Paul:At least those who live to tell about it. Let's face it, Annie, every step you take here is considered lethal.

Annie:Hell, they're not even our steps; if the drug pushers, gangs, or even the syndicates want them, they'll get them…no matter what it takes.

Paul:The next episode of Words That We Couldn't Say – Dance of the Streets: Part I.


	3. Session 2 - Dance of the Streets: Part I

Douglastown was a small neighborhood in the middle of Tharsis City. When it was first created, it was considered to be one of the most beautiful places in the galaxy to live in, because the people there actually took the time to take care of it – and each other. However, one of the constants guaranteed in life is that things change as time passes on, and that was the undoing of Douglastown. First, people stopped caring because they took things for granted. Then, as the quality of life gradually decreased, more and more people left, leaving the denigrates and vagrants to do as they so pleased. That attracted the attention of the syndicates and gangs, and many a year was spent fighting over complete control of the area. When a new drug called Red Eye was created, the battle became even more heated as casualties increased en masse – some due to shootouts, most due to overdosing. Douglastown became known as Drugstown, and its citizenship was considered useless – especially its children.

Session 2 – Dance of the Streets: Part I

"You want anything else, you two?"

"No thanks Pablo, we're getting full enough as it is!"

"Ah good. Call me if you want anything else."

"Yeah, thanks!"

The two teenagers at the countertop resumed their dinners as Pablo went back into the kitchen to work on another platter. Annie, seventeen and sturdy, took another meaty bite of her cheeseburger, as the lanky Paul, soon to be the same age, sipped from the soda that came with his steak and French fries.

He took a look at her burger again and made a face. "God, Annie! I'm never gonna understand why you always put beets on your burger! It's pretty gross, frankly."

"How would you know? You never ate an entire vegetable in your whole damn life!"

"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk with your mouth full? It is very unladylike, you know."

"Whoever said that I was a lady to begin with needs to have an eye exam."

Paul simply sighed at this statement. "Annie, listen to me. Sure, you're not tall and thin (and believe me, that is no picnic either), and you can bench-press almost twice your weight. But that should not make you feel any less beautiful than all those froo-froo chicks in Society Park. I mean, you're strong in so many ways, you're smart, and you can hold your beer – most of the time anyway."

Annie gave him a sweet smile, hoping it could somehow help deal with her astonishment. Paul leaned over and gave her a hug.

"Someday, some lucky guy is gonna find you, and he's gonna treat you like the woman that you are."

Maybe he just doesn't realize that we've already met…

"Thanks, Paul," she replied in her raspy voice. "I really don't think it's any wonder that you're my best friend. And by the way, I just washed my hair today, so get your greasy paws out of it!"

"Hey, geez, sor-ry!" he said jokingly. "But it is pretty -"

"Stop it," she said, swatting his hand away continuously for about a minute. Why did he have the need to constantly play with her hair?

Pablo reappeared from the kitchen, watching the two play and joke around with each other. It reminded him of he and Marisol at that age…

"All right you two, break it up! Do you want a doggie bag to take with you?"

Giggling, Annie said, "Sure, Pablo; just give us the bill."

"No need, _mija_," he said quietly. "You're good, hard-working kids, and you deserve a break once in a while."

The two friends protested. "But Pablo - "

"I insist. Just keep on coming back, you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

A few minutes later, Pablo returned with their wrapped food, along with some dessert. "Save this for later, in case you get hungry, OK?"

"OK, Pablo, we'll see you tomorrow!"

"Have a good night, you two!" The grin from Pablo's face fell as he watched the two leave. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do…"

Annie and Paul did not live far from Pablo's diner; however, they lived at the edge of the boundaries of two of the most dangerous gang territories, so finding new ways to get home without getting into a fight became a favorite pastime of theirs. Tonight, it seemed quiet.

Paul pulled out a stick of gum. "They probably are in the middle of ransacking another business. Either that or they're fighting the Red Dragons again."

"Fuckin' idiots," muttered Annie. "It's like flies trying to go against bug spray."

They walked across the street when a blue mohawked figure briefly caught the corner of Annie's eye. His mere presence made her head turn. He and his companions were heading in the opposite direction, across the street.

Across to Pablo's diner.

"Paul!" she whispered and nudged her head in that direction.

They immediately went back.

A punch to the jaw.

"AAH!"

A hard-handed slap to the face.

"UNGH!"

Words he couldn't make out.

"OOF!"

The wind was socked right out of him as a powerful fist connected with his soft stomach. 

The only thing he could hear clearly was the ticking of the kitty-kat clock on the wall, its eyes moving side to side as each second passed.

Some sense of humor you have there, God.

Or is it the Lord that I'm dealing with now?

The blue-haired man grabbed Pablo by the neck and roared in his face. One of the others begged him to stop, but one look at the assaultant's eyes – blood red and almost glowing – caused him to back down.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS IT?"

Pablo only trembled. It took him a few minutes before he could finally open his mouth.

"…I…don't…know…"

The mohawk pushed Pablo to the wall with a knife to his throat. A few drops of blood stained the steel blade.

"Well, we're just gonna have to help you remember, then."

Deeper and deeper and deeper…

…bang…

Pablo, clutching his neck, fell to the floor. Weren't…those…those two kids…

Annie and Paul, after bandaging Pablo's neck with a tablecloth (it was the only thing they could find), helped the barely conscious man to his feet and started towards the clinic which was close to a mile away. No respectable ambulance would ever set foot in Drugstown.

About halfway there, Pablo started coughing up blood.

"Oh Jesus, we don't have much time!" shouted Paul.

"We'll be there, soon, Pablo. I promise," Annie whispered.

They turned a corner. They heard a squishy sound and fell to the ground.

All was quiet and seemingly clear again. Annie opened her eyes, which glowed with fear and anger. Blinking repeatedly, she took in her surroundings: the streetlights, the unkempt buildings, the night sky…she could remember the last time she saw stars. She and her parents left Drugstown for the day in new clothes to go to a wildlife park. The cleanest place on Mars, as far as she saw. That night, they walked to an open field and laid back in the cool grass and counted as many stars as they could. Red, yellow, blue, purple, big, small…the possibilities were endless. They told her that if she worked hard, she could get out of Drugstown and make a respectable life for herself. They never told her though, about how some people, no matter what, would only see in her the griminess of the streets. That lesson would be reinforced many different times, in many different ways.

And there she was, lying on the ground, next to two possibly dead people. Just more nameless casualties.

She put her hand on Pablo's neck for a pulse. Nothing.

She then finally noticed harsh breathing coming from the other side of Pablo. Paul's eyes were bloodshot and glazed. She thought she could see his heart desperately seeking an exit out of his body.

She was not going down like that.

"Your blood pressure, Paul. Stay down."

Forcing herself up, she took out her semi-automatic, and started to move around for anyone…anything.

"You fuckin' cowards piss me off! You go around shooting innocent people, then run off like it was a prank! You shouldn't even consider yourselves human beings!"

Had Annie moved an-eighth of an inch to the right, the bullet that grazed her cheek would have been lodged behind her ear.

She turned around and saw no one. 

"Come on out, you shitheads! What the fuck are you waiting for?"

She shot into the darkness a few times, then backed away into a nearby alley, trying to figure out who the hell she was up against with.

Her question was answered when her gun was kicked out of her hand. She quickly reached for her knife and slashed at her assailant's face. A dark liquid substance fell to the ground.

With the stealth of a cheetah, the assailant smacked the knife away, then pulled out a gun and held it to Annie's temple.

Hoarsely, the defeated teenager asked, "What is it that you want with us?"

A low, feminine voice answered, "With you, nothing. We just want that man over there."

"Well, he's dead! What more could you possibly-"

Annie's eyes widened.

"YOU BITCH!"

Before Annie could attempt anything, the woman clocked her upside the head with her gun. Annie got the message immediately.

Even in this time of danger, she could not help but grimace at the woman's strange hair.

"Your name is Anastasia, right? Yes, my people have been watching you for quite some time and they would like to speak to you."

"Your people? Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"That will come in time. But for now, let's take a walk, shall we?"

They walked back to the spot of the shooting, where Paul and Pablo's body lay. Once there, Annie gave the signal, and within seconds, Paul held the mysterious woman's arm behind her back. Annie, taking the troublemaker's gun, simply said, "Works every time."

"Except tonight."

A floodlight shone down on them. Men and women, dressed identically in tailor-made business suits, aimed at the two from the rooftops, through the windows, and on the ground.

"Your call."

On the next episode…

Annie:So, this is how our wacky adventure begins. It's crazy, how life takes twists and turns you never expect. One day, you're walking home from school; the next day, an entire gang of thugs is after you. Isn't life great? Hmm, maybe if we live long enough, we'll get to the bottom of this. I just hope that woman is not around though, there's something that bothers me about her, and I'm not just talking about that hair…

The next episode of Words That She Couldn't Say – Dance of the Streets: Part II. It's gonna be a long and bumpy ride before this fanfic's through…


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